Archive for December 12th, 2009

There are many reasons to dislike the statist economic policies emanating from Washington, and high on the list is the way big government lures companies into mooching off taxpayers rather than earning money honestly. If CEOs at least had the dignity to be embarrassed about their plunder, that would provide a bit of solace, but that is rarely the case. The head of General Electric is parroting inaccurate left-wing talking points and trumpeting corporatist policies. It’s not clear whether he believes this nonsense or is merely trying to please his political masters. The FT reports:

Jeffrey Immelt, General Electric’s chief executive, said on Wednesday his generation of business leaders had succumbed to “meanness and greed” that had harmed the US economy and increased the gap between the rich and the poor. …“We are at the end of a difficult generation of business leadership … tough-mindedness, a good trait, was replaced by meanness and greed, both terrible traits,” said Mr Immelt… “Rewards became perverted. The richest people made the most mistakes with the least accountability.” …“The bottom 25 per cent of the American population is poorer than they were 25 years ago. That is just wrong,” he said. “Ethically, leaders do share a common responsibility to narrow the gap between the weak and the strong.” GE wants to win a large slice of the infrastructure projects funded by governments around the world in an effort to kick-start their economies. Mr Immelt said business should welcome government as “a catalyst for leadership and change”.